DC-Area Sheriff Issues Ominous Warning to MS-13 Gangbangers Following Arrest of Their Leader

The arrest Thursday of 24-year-old Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, an illegal from El Salvador who operated as the East Coast leader of the violent MS-13 gang, is reverberating across local law enforcement agencies in the Washington, D.C., area. MS-13 has long been a plague on the D.C. suburbs, particularly in Northern Virginia, where many illegals from El Salvador and other Central American countries choose to set up camp.

As a resident of one of those Northern Virginia suburbs, Loudoun County, I was pleased to see such a high-profile arrest of such a low-life criminal. I did, however, also wonder what the arrest would mean for communities like mine, which has suffered the ill-effects of MS-13's continued presence. So, I reached out to Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman, who was clearly thrilled at this development.

Chapman told RedState:

“I congratulate Attorney General Bondi and our law enforcement partners on today’s arrest of a leader of the violent MS-13 gang. This sends a clear signal to gang members who come to America to commit violent crimes, participate in human trafficking, and distribute illegal drugs. We will track you down and we will arrest you. That has been our approach in Loudoun County, and today’s arrest in our neighboring county should be celebrated by all law-abiding citizens.”

Here are some things to know about Loudoun County (besides the fact the parent revolution of 2021 began with our kooky school board and its vile army of concern-troll moms): we share a border with Fairfax County, a community where common sense has been replaced by woke ideology, and Prince William County (PWC), which is only slightly less woke than Fairfax and where today's arrest of Santos took place.

However, unlike Fairfax and PWC, Loudoun has solid leadership in the form of common-sense conservatives like Sheriff Chapman and our commonwealth's attorney, Bob Anderson.

MORE: DOJ-FBI-CBP Joint Task Force in VA Nabs a Top MS-13 Leader - 'A Massive Victory for a Safer America'

Watch: Karoline Leavitt Touts Huge MS-13 Arrest, Absolutely Skewers Dems and 'Activist Judges'

Much like the United States's southern border, it's Loudoun's border with Fairfax County that causes problems where MS-13 in concerned (although the gang has spread into other Loudoun communities). Sterling, Virginia, which sits right on that border, has become the Loudoun County epicenter for MS-13 gang activity. Last October, 18-year-old Marlyn Medrano-Ortiz, a known MS-13 gang member and illegal alien was arrested for a double-murder in Sterling.

MS-13 is also in our schools. In another part of Loudoun, a middle schooler with known ties to MS-13 was caught in possession of a gun on school grounds two years ago, and, much to the dismay of parents, was allowed to remain in school. Being that this is Loudoun and our afore-mentioned school board is still rather kooky, public comment on the handling of the young gang member was cut off.

The arrest of Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos is a major win for law enforcement, both on the federal, state and local levels, and a reminder that we can push back against MS-13’s grip on our communities. Loudoun County, with its strong leadership and proactive policing, stands as a model for safety in the region. This arrest, as echoed by Sheriff Mike Chapman, sends a powerful message: criminals will not find a safe haven here.

Additional background on Thursday's arrest as provided by the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office:

Today’s arrest was made under the umbrella of Virginia’s new Homeland Security Task Force (VHSTF), a partnership of federal agencies, Virginia State Police, and local law enforcement agencies like ours to “to combat transnational organized crime and coordinate ongoing immigration enforcement efforts across Virginia.” About 300 persons have already arrested since March 3^rd.
In Loudoun, serious (“Part 1”) crime is already down 29% in the first quarter of this year, and we are the only locality in the region that had already been collaborating with ICE when it issued detainers when undocumented criminals are arrested – some of whom are gang members.
The recently enhanced federal enforcement, including this task force, helps Loudoun continue to be the safest locality in the region both directly and indirectly. Besides deterring criminal activity by those living here, it makes clear to those in surrounding areas that they will not have a safe haven from which to come to Loudoun and prey on our community – as was the case with the double homicide in Sterling last year committed by an undocumented male with MS-13 gang connections who was residing in Alexandria.

Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.

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